Annie Meehan

In my “Ride” speech I share with you the importance of setting challenging goals and doing something that forces you to reach out of your comfort zone. My bike ride from Minneapolis to Chicago was that for me.

I have signed up for three 5k’s this summer. For some of you this might seem like not a big deal, but running beyond a block is a challenge for me. I have completed a number of 5k’s in the past, but I have walked most of them. Having allergies and exercised induced asthma, my breathing can scare the person next to me! I would, however, really like to jog at least one whole race and finish in less than 40 minutes. To help me with this, I hired a running coach this week. We will meet once a week to train, learn preparation techniques, and learn how to warm up and stretch after.

I encourage you to commit to a challenge this summer, Whether it’s a 3-day walk, a bike ride, a run, or a rollerblading challenge. I love when people get in shape and give back at the same time for a great cause. Events like the 2014 Twin Cities Heart Walk in May is one way to do this. Search online for other events with a cause that stirs your heart.

WOO is one of the thirty-four StrengthsFinder Themes. WOO is “Winning Others Over” and is one of my StrengthFinder Themes. I think WOO is so much more; it is what happens when we are courting or pursuing someone.

When you first start dating you put your best foot forward, you are more patient, and you make more of an effort to look and be your best. It’s about being your best and attracting someone. I wonder why we stop making the effort to look and be our best after time has passed. Not only do we stop giving our best, but sometimes we give our worst, or even our left overs.

It is easy to think about this concept (putting our best foot forward and then stopping) in an intimate relationship, but I want you to think about it in a business relationship. When you first go after a sale, you are dressed your best, show up early with excitement and energy and convince the client that your products or services are the best. But as time goes by and after several meetings with the client, you might get a little lax.

All of us get to choose where and how we will spend our hard earned money, but we often forget that clients have a choice to support us or not. We should always want to give our best in both our personal and professional relationships.

I want to give my clients more than they pay for by offering them free coaching with every AdvoCare order. I follow-up after presentations and send check-in emails to my coaching clients.

Sometimes it is challenging to look back, but it is also important. Looking back can be about seeing how far you have come in life and gaining perspective about all you have overcome. When you don’t feel like you are doing enough or moving forward fast enough, don’t compare yourself to another, each person experiences a different defining moment in their life. I think looking back is about reflecting, remembering the lessons, and the strength gained along the way.

As I spend time this summer finishing my new book “Dumpster to Dynasty…A True Cinderella Story” I find myself feeling very emotional as I reflect back. If I take a deep breath I realize that was my past, it does not define me. It is not who I am today. It made me stronger, loving, compassionate, and generous. I did not know it would be so hard to overcome some aspects of my life.

Remember, when we go through challenging stages in life we do not have to stay stuck in them. We need to learn from them and then move on, move forward! Some people have to overcome more challenges than others but this is a good time to remember we are always at choice about how we will let those experiences define us or our future.

I hope that you can look back without regret, hurt or too much pain over all you have done and gone through in your life. What might be simple in someone’s life might have been a defining moment in someone else’s. We should not judge because we are all on a different journey. Embrace the knowledge that you have gained from past experiences and use it to impact and inspire others who are going through the same as you once did.

Get your head in the game…what game? Your child’s soccer game, the MN Wild playoff games, or the game of life.

Where is your mind….. is it where you are right now? Is it drifting? Do you even care about the game or are you distracted by something that is bothering you, or something that is happening on the sidelines?

When kids are playing sports, I often remind them that when an opponent is bothering them, more than anything, it is to distract them from the game at hand. If we let frustration distract us from playing our best game, we have lost track of our purpose and why we are here in the first place – to do our best, to win.

I can’t say that I have ever truly loved any sport, but I love my kids and I love to watch them play sports. I am not passionate about sports unless I am passionate about the players. I think sports, work, and life all come from the same place, wanting to succeed and feel good about what we have accomplished along the way.